An unlocked smartphone means one of two items; you can use it with any network provider or you are able to install any application on it. With the price of present day smartphones running to a few hundred dollars, the phone companies and the network providers have to present some attractive offers in order to get users to upgrade their smartphone. The most prevalent tactic is to offer the phone for free or with a heavy discount and in return you agree to a contract where you agree to pay a minimum amount of money on a monthly basis. The sting in the tail is that while you get the newest smartphone worth several hundred dollars, it’s locked to the carrier you signed the contract with. Consequently, if you’d like to change carriers or switch to a month by month plan when the contract expires you’ll have a difficult time taking your own mobile phone with you.
The fastest route to finding out if the device is locked to a network provider is to put in a sim card from a different provider and see if you get a signal and you can make and receive calls. If you cannot then you probably possess a locked phone. The ‘lock’ isn’t a physical lock but a program hidden in the operating system? This program checks that the network service provider is valid and inhibits any attempt to connect with a different provider.
It’s possible, but a bit dangerous, to unlock a device either by entering a sequence of numbers through the keypad or connecting it up to a personal computer which has some software to erase or reprogram the core files. You’ll not come across any retailers providing this service but certainly the little, individually owned mobile phone suppliers will offer this service for a small fee if you ask them. Nonetheless, be warned that when you do elect to unlock your device for use on some other carrier it likely voids the warranty. There is always the chance it could wipe the system memory permanently after which you’ll have a block of plastic about as effective as a brick.
One of the reasons you may want to get the device unlocked, and 1 of the driving factors many look to do so is when you are travelling abroad for any duration you want to keep your phone but utilize a local sim card to reduce costs on phone calls, text messages and data transfer. A locked smartphone won’t provide the ability to do this therefore, the sole alternative is to get the phone unlocked.
An additional form of locking is the restrictions carried out by the producer of the device. The Apple iPhone is notorious for this because Steve Jobs made a decision that he doesn’t want customers playing with the OS or setting up unapproved apps. This has given rise to the expression ‘jailbreaking’ for the iPhone. Lots of consumers attempt to break away and unlock their iPhone by way of jailbreaking it. However, doing this voids the warranty and support.
In contrast, Google’s Android phones are open source and gives the freedom and flexibility to personalize everything. Programmers are free to develop and install any type of app which most argue makes the Android a top-notch operating system because there is no need to unlock it, jailbreak it or circumnavigate limitations that have been put in place. That said, most network service providers will lock the device to their network and you may want unlocking services from a local cellular shop.